Two long barrows 630m and 690m north east of Scamridge Farm

Reasons for Designation

Long barrows were constructed as earthen or drystone mounds with flanking ditches and acted as funerary monuments during the Early and Middle Neolithic periods (3400-2400 BC). They represent the burial places of Britain's early farming communities and, as such, are amongst the oldest field monuments surviving visibly in the present landscape. Where investigated, long barrows appear to have been used for communal burial, often with only parts of the human remains having been selected for interment. Certain sites provide evidence for several phases of funerary monument preceding the barrow and, consequently, it is probable that long barrows acted as important ritual sites for local communities over a considerable period of time. Some 500 examples of long barrows and long cairns, their counterparts in the uplands, are recorded nationally. As one of the few types of Neolithic structure to survive as earthworks, and due to their comparative rarity, their considerable age and their longevity as a monument type, all long barrows are considered to be nationally important.

Despite levelling by ploughing, the two long barrows 630m and 690m north east of Scamridge Farm have surviving archaeological deposits which will preserve significant information about their date, original form and the rituals associated with their use. Important environmental evidence which can be used to determine the contemporary environment will also survive within the buried ditches. The barrows are among a group of at least four long barrows in this area which are situated within less than 1km of each other. This is a much greater concentration than anywhere else on the North York Moors and Tabular Hills and provides valuable insight into Neolithic ritual and funerary activity. The area also has many other prehistoric burial monuments, dating from the Bronze Age and Iron Age, as well as a complex network of prehistoric land boundaries. The relationships between these monuments and the Neolithic long barrows are important for understanding the development and use of the landscape for different purposes during the prehistoric period.

Details

The monument includes two long barrows which are situated towards the top of the east-facing slope into Scamridge Slack. They lie on the southern dip slopes of the Tabular Hills. Originally both barrows had mounds of earth and stone which would have tapered in width and height from east to west. The mound would have been constructed with material from flanking quarry ditches and in front of the eastern, higher end of the mound, there would have been a forecourt area where rituals relating to the use of the monument would have taken place. Over the years, ploughing has levelled both barrow mounds and filled in the quarry ditches so that they are no longer visible as earthworks, although the quarry ditches will survive below the ground surface as subsoil features. Traces of the activities which took place in the forecourt area will also survive below the ground surface as pits, post-holes or hearths, although nothing is visible above the ground. Both the barrows can be seen on aerial photographs in which the quarry ditches show up as cropmarks. From the photographs it can be seen that the northern barrow, known as Rob Howe on early editions of the Ordnance Survey maps, is oriented ENE to WSW and the southern barrow, which is about 130m to the south, is oriented east to west. The northern barrow is about 43m long and about 18m wide at the western end and 26m wide at the eastern end, including the buried quarry ditches. The southern barrow is about 25m long and about 16m wide, including the buried quarry ditches. The barrows lie in an area where there is a concentration of Neolithic monuments, including further long barrows, which is surrounded by many other prehistoric burial monuments and a network of prehistoric land boundaries. A north-south fence passes the eastern end of the monument, crossing the forecourt area of the northern barrow; all fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, althought the ground beneath them is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 5 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

35441

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Spratt, D A, Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology in North East Yorkshire in Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, Vol. 87, (1993)

Other
Title: 1st Edition 6" Ordnance Survey sheet 92 Source Date: 1854 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
SF 1677/451, (1979)
SF 1677/454, (1979)

End of official list entry

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